Use Of Ethos In Julius Caesar

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Antony is a known character in the Shakespearean play Julius Caesar. Antony is most known for his speech at Caesar's funeral. In his speech he had to convince the crowd that Caesar was wrongly murdered and subtly reveal who the perpetrators were. He had to use his words to influence the crowd. With his expert use of Rhetoric, he completely changes the crowd from having a major distaste for Caesar, to wanting to avenge him. How did Antony accomplish this extreme task? In his speech he uses mostly Ethos and Logos to persuade the people of the crowd, but also used pathos to receive their sympathy. How exactly did he use his rhetoric skills though? Antony knows that the crowd is easily persuaded, so he relies on ethos to begin his speech. He starts off by calling the crowd “Friends, Romans, countrymen” (III.ii.70). This established a sense of equality between Antony and the crowd. Antony wants the crowd to see him as a man who understand their struggles. To the crowd, this is important because they would want a leader who understands them. If he has a credibility of being understanding, Antony will have more followers. Antony also knows that accessing the crowd’s trust will get him farther than accessing their emotions. Antony …show more content…
For example, he uses pathos in act 3, scene 2, line 66 to receive sympathy from the crowd. Antony specifically states “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.” (III.ii.166) His warning could set the emotion of the crowd into a sad state. His persuasion and influence is so strong at this point that he can simply make the crowd believe that they are sad. His consistency also shows his use of logos. He does not jump from one idea to the next without connecting it to his main point. His use of pathos also shows between lines 180-200. His claim of Caesar being betrayed, angers and saddens the crowd, the crowd then rallies to take revenge for